Luka Doncic has had a series of run-ins with game referees this season. Things often escalate to the point where the cameras catch the Slovenian dropping expletives. That’s not all, fans and experts, too, have called him out for the on-court antics. Yet, a single gesture was enough for the league to slam the superstar with a $50,000 fine.

On Tuesday, the NBA announced that it is handing the Los Angeles Lakers superstar a massive $ 50,000 fine for directing an “inappropriate and unprofessional gesture” toward a game official during the Lakers vs. Knicks game on Sunday. That night, LA won 110-97, with Doncic posting 35 points. However, the glory has now taken a backseat.

What happened on the floor that forced the office-bearer to make such a harsh decision? With 4:35 left in Q3 on Sunday, Luka Doncic tried to draw a charge on Knicks forward Mohamed Diawara. Instead, the whistle went the other way as official Tre Maddox called a blocking foul. Then, while still on the floor after the collision, Doncic rubbed his fingers together in a money gesture and stared straight at Maddox.

At present, the 27-year-old has 15 technical fouls to his name this season. One more, and he will sit out with a one-game suspension. Thus, the fans have taken to social media to grill their favorite Slovenian boy after the fine incident.

Fans call out Luka Doncic after $50,ooo fine

“More fines than NBA championships 😭 Tatum clears,” someone commented. Well, this is a taunt towards Doncic, who has already collected 15 techs this season. Yet his championship cabinet remains empty. On the other hand, Jayson Tatum has no tech so far since his debut last week. However, the Celtics star has a ring; he won it competing against Luka at the Dallas Mavericks.

Meanwhile, a fan used Artificial Intelligence to create an image of Luka Doncic with five Larry O’Brien trophies in front of him. But the caption read, “Luka if players got a ring for complaining to the refs and not playing defense.”

Another one wrote, “Good, keep punishing him, until he learns to stop complaining about every call.” Well, many have said that Doncic makes the games unwatchable because of his habit of arguing referee calls during NBA games, often leading to technical fouls. Therefore, fans hope to see a changed Luka after the punishment. Well, it’s tough to say if that’ll happen.

One of the fans said, “Luka’s always whining to the refs. Stop crying and play.” In simple terms, fans feel that Luka Doncic complains too much to referees during games. They think he spends too much time reacting to foul calls and arguing instead of focusing on playing.

Sharing similar sentiments, lastly, someone commented, “This man keeps crying. I’ve never seen an NBA player complain as much as him.”

One gesture stole the spotlight and flipped the entire night on its head. Fans flooded social media, questioning Luka Doncic’s constant battles with referees. As the noise builds and criticism sharpens, the spotlight now shifts to Luka himself. The next move will reveal whether the message finally lands.